SEO Tools: Can You Build Inbound Links by Using Images?

According to Pearson Prentice Hall eTeach, 65% of the population are visual learners. It makes sense since images help tell a story or teach a concept. They make sure an oral report doesn’t fall on deaf ears. They also provide proof in the form of charts and graphs. If reports only had statistics, they wouldn’t be as effective to persuade your audience to agree with you. When it comes to a website, images work in the same fashion; they help describe a product or service as well as show its value. But images can also be used in another way: to build links. The more links you have, the farther your marketing reach extends. And if the links are popular or credible, they give the credibility of your product or service a boost while creating brand awareness.

Ways to Earn Inbound Links with Images

Images are the forgotten part of SEO tools for a digital strategy. They are valuable, but people focus on the content. They are quick to use keywords or long tail keywords as links. But what about the images? They work just as well. After all, you create alt tags for better SEO. So, how can you use them to build links?

Create your Images. On any web page, you will find at least one image. There should be one image per every 75 – 100 words. Usually, it’s an image of the company or a stock image. The image should be attached to a popular keyword in your industry. Chances are people will use the image. This is especially true for infographics. They make complex topics easy to digest. If people like it, they will share it. And by sharing it, you can build links off it. You can also send your infographic to those you think would use it (e.g., bloggers). In doing this, you may get a link back to your website. Also, do not send a generic email. You should personalize it to improve your chances of getting a link.

Promote your Images. If you have created an image/infographic, post it on social media platforms (i.e., Pinterest). This will also help increase your brand awareness.

Keep an Eye on Image SERPs. The easiest way to monitor your image SERPs is to use Google Reverse Image Search. This allows you to see where your images are on the web. You’ll know who is using them and where they are being held. If you’re not getting a backlink, you should reach out to those who are using your images. Plus, you can create a Google alert for your images.

Branded Badges. Badges are very popular. For example, if you own a home improvement company, having the Angie’s List badge on your website ensures a great deal of traffic. A badge is like an award. If a company (or blogger) uses your product or service, you could ask them to display your badge and vice-versa.

Label your Images. With some builders/editors, you are asked to input data (keywords and/or descriptive text) attached to each image (metadata or alt tags). Google “bots” crawl every website indexing them through keywords. They can also pick up the image metadata. This increases your chances of Google giving your website a higher ranking. To be proactive, you can create your own image metadata and send it to those who would use your images and ask them to post it in the information fields.

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